Sprint Talks Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is back in the headlines with the Supreme Court’s announcement this week that it would not hear an appeal of a lower court’s decision upholding Obama-era net-neutrality rules. Noting that the FCC had already reversed regulatory course, the court declined to hear a case it now considers a moot point.

The rules put in place during Obama’s administration were intended to protect equal access to content on the Internet. However, both President Trump and the telecom industry rejected the net neutrality rules. In December of 2017 the rules were repealed, and in June, the policy reversal went into effect.

Sprint officials told Ingram’s that their sentiments regarding net neutrality rules mirror those of other companies in the telecom industry. “Our position has been and continues to be that competition is the best way to promote an open Internet,” a company spokesman said. “Previous net neutrality regulations were complex and vague creating uncertainty for consumers and providers. The FCC’s decision last December eliminated those uncertainties, allowing Sprint to manage our network and offer competitive products.”

Although the net neutrality rules championed by President Obama have since been repealed, the FCC’s order that reversed those very rules is still before the Federal Court of Appeals, and according to Sprint, “depending on how that case is decided, the Obama-era rules may again become the law of the land.”